ON-1 Oni - 55t, TRO3067
Originally posted 14 Jun. 2006. All proposed fan-variants should be posted in the corresponding “FotW Workshop†thread. With DCMS non-OmniFighter development suffering repeated set-backs, both in the loss of production facilities to hostile action and in simple reprioritisation of procurement towards ‘proven’ designs during crises, the ON-1
Oni had a long and troubled gestational period. However, for all its hellish past and fiendish moniker (“Oni†translating as ‘demon’ or ‘troll’), the type is ‘good enough, cheap enough’ that the DCMS finally put it into production in 3066.
Wrapped around a 275SFE which probably came from ‘Phoenixed’
Wolverines, the
Oni’s 7/11 thrust curve makes it only moderately mobile by today’s standards, but it also makes it dirt-cheap and almost perfect for “Shermanâ€-style tactics. Only four tons of fuel is an odd choice, reducing operational range rather sharply compared to the industry’s baseline, but in a ship probably meant for ‘out-hit-back’ profiles, it may not be overly bad; certainly it’s not
armoured for an extended fight, as the 37/30/28 distribution of its six tons of ferro-aluminium armour puts it firmly in the weight class’s ‘glass jaw’ category. >:( That said, it’s armed well enough to make a difference while it’s there: an MRM-30 is socketed into the nose, along with two tons of ammo and an I-had-a-half-ton ERSL, with ERLLs mounted in each wing, all backed by thirteen DHS - not enough for an alpha strike, but you can use any two arcs which bear on the target, which is probably good enough for government work. :D Eleven tons of externals at 4/6 aren’t too shabby, either, though not really staggering as at least two (and probably four) of those eleven slots would probably be best devoted to drop-tanks to restore some semblance of decent operational radius. :(
Onis and ON-1 squadrons have several uses, depending on how many of them you have and how many of them (and their pilots) you’re prepared to expend and/or replace; like I said, every single thing about the ON-1 is cost-conscious, even those cut-price dumb-rocket MRMs, so you’re well set-up for Sherman tactics. Their ERLLs give them solid sniping capability, letting them pound opponent fighters/’Ships from Long range without overheating, and you can Strafe with all your energy weapons with similar abandon. Anyone wanting to throw a little extra confusion at his opponent in a purely air-to-air fight can use them for ‘slash in/blow-through’ strikes on enemy fighters, using those nasty, nasty MRMs as a devastating knock-out punch against chosen wing-pairs. Similarly, the MRM rack offers a hell of a combination knock-down/crit-finding weapon in Strikes, savaging ’Mechs with as many as six five-point damage-clusters in addition to their beams, and as if you’re looking for super-cheap anti-’Shipping platforms, you can do a lot worse than the
Oni: a squadron’s MRMs can develop up to 11 Capital damage, with two 5-Capital ERLL bays to vary the treatment.
Combat use of the
Oni needs to be thoughtful if you’re not prepared to lose a great many of them. As per the basics of fighter combat, you need to avoid alerted defenders but hammer the hell out of the unwary, then beat feet before they spot you - the above-mentioned sniping or ‘blow-through’ tactics should be your stock in trade. Avoid anything your own speed or faster, especially Feddie
Daggers, or you’ll get your ass handed to you on a plate.
Of course, if you’re ready to play the “Soviet Swarm†card on a C-bills basis, or use ’em as one-way weapons, they’ve got the firepower to do some damage before you lose them all, so.... [shrug]
Defenders need to be wary of the
Oni’s firepower but aware of their fragility - the entire concept of the ON-1 starfighter is a textbook case of the “eggshell craft, sledgehammer armament†paradigm at work. >:( They’re undefended from the rear, so interceptors should have a field day taking them apart after the merge (with every ML strike threatening a TAC check from every angle, no less!). Hitting them with lots of throw-weight from Long range will do wonders for your tactical situation, too - five-point LRM-clusters aren’t considered great fire-support against most birds, but against thin-skinned
Onis they can be devastating TAC-threats, and a few doses from ERPPCs or ERLLs or Gauss rifles will greatly compound the misery. Certainly the fluff would suggest there’s a great deal to this approach: an
Oni which encountered an LAAF EST-O
Eisensturm over Lyons was obliterated all but instantly, simply crushed out of existence by a probable Lyran covert-op backed by twin Gauss Rifles and ninety-five tons of pure, unadulterated bad-ass. :P
(Admittedly, pitting almost
anything against an EST-O is a gross mismatch, but a thin-skinned
Oni? Sheesh, that’s about as cruel as sending a half-dozen unbriefed nBSG Cylon basestars up against a Mk.XXXIII Bolo like
Shiva. ;D)
[VARIANT PROPOSAL(S) REDACTED] All proposed fan-variants - including my own - belong in the corresponding “FotW Workshop†thread: http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,5428.0.html Be advised: the attached .txt transcript of the previous run of this thread may contain numerous reader-proposals for variants. I’ll try to change it out for a ‘sanitised’ version of that thread when I can, but I can’t promise it’ll be soon - that’s a lot of ground to cover. ;)
